A giant of a man at 6' 5 1/2" and 250 pounds, Ralph Rose was the first shot putter to break 50 feet. His world record of 51' 0", set in 1909, lasted for 16 years.
In 1904, while at the University of Michigan, he won both the shot put and discus at the Big Ten championships. He subsequently competed for the San Francisco Olympic Club and won seven National AAU titles in the shot, discus and javelin.
A competitor in three Olympic Games, Rose compiled a medal total of three golds, two silver and one bronze. At the 1904 Paris Olympics, he won the shot, was second in the discus, third in the hammer throw and sixth in the 56-pound weight throw. Four years later, he repeated as the shot put champion. In 1912, he won the two-handed shot put (throwing a total of 90' 10 1/2" with his right and left hands), took second in the regular shot, ninth in the hammer and 11th in the discus.